Fornes Book

Although this book can be read merely at face value as being solely about San Francisco’s history and creation, in a general socio-political context it also simultaneously tells the story of the founding of western civilization itself. Essentially, in broad stroke terms the ideas put forth here can be applied worldwide to any of the great cities of the world. Consequently, this book should not just appeal to a small interest group but anyone interested in the greater scheme of things.

Overall, this is a staggering piece of research in its scope and intent. This is a work of true genius that not only teaches and instructs the reader but also entertains in a way that rarely a scholarly work such as this is apt to do. Granted, as a character, the city of San Francisco displays quite a few quirks and eccentricities that make it ripe for a case study that could be nothing less than entertaining. [Read “The Magnificent Rogues of San Francisco” by Charles F. Adams for a more lighthearted romp and further emphasis of this point. You can also read my review of this title here under “my books.”]

This book also is as frightening as any dystopian science fiction novel ever written but all the more so, as this no work of imaginative fiction but is all too real of a scenario that is still happening today. The central chapters of this book are found under the telling heading of, “The Thought Shapers” and deals with the enormous media empires that were built hand-in-hand alongside this great city. All of these shared the same goal in striving to shape the public consciousness towards the benefit and aims of those in power, themselves. Basically, this is Big Brother personified. One might roll ones eyes and cry out against this premise as merely being leftist liberal claptrap but the term “yellow journalism” and William Randolph Hearst were both born here in S.F. and are synonymous with one another, as well as also being irrefutable established facts that outright defy any such possible claims of a bias here.

In the end, you’ll never view this fabled city by the bay in quite the same way. Despite all of its charms and personality it is in essence something more along the lines of a monolithic parasite that uses the rest of the state as its accommodating and willing host that is somehow so huge as to be completely unseen, at least in this particular light. It took the immense talents of Mr. Brechin to reveal this to us in exacting detail.

Of course, this is more of my interpretation of the things and despite the fact that in no uncertain terms this is precisely what Mr. Brechin is trying to show. Only, I want to make it clear that this should not be seen to imply that he reviles or hates the subject of this book. On the contrary, he’s written a great many flattering articles and other books on this subject, dealing with various aspects of the city’s culture and history. Many of these can be found online in their entirety to those that may wish to pursue further reading by this author. These other writings balance his portrait given here in his book and show his abiding interest and respect, if not love, for this city.

Furthermore, I have to admit that my respect and admiration for Gray Brechin not only is extended to him for this wonderful book he wrote but also for actively following his muse. Instead of merely sitting back and watching the effect of his novel has had upon others, it would appear that the far-reaching impact of his own findings seem to have stirred in him his own brand of activism. This other aspect of him would appear to utilize his specific talents towards the aim of alleviating some of the ill effects that he masterfully portrayed in his novel. He now heads a project out of the Berkeley University of California that seeks to preserve and promote the history of FDR’s New Deal, specifically that dealing with the WPA.

In showing the enormously positive impact that these liberal policies had on our country, something that seems to be under severe attack these days, he is applying his skills in the best of his abilities while ensuring that the memory of these often vilified “socialist” programs are preserved both physically as well as in the public consciousness in their best possible light. In this way, he is actively trying to change the course of events that he illustrates so well in his book by making sure that the alternative to these is heard loud and clear and is neither forgotten by us nor shouted down by our contemporary “thought shapers” of today.